The Wall Angel is a commonly performed exercise in both rehab and Prehab and for good reason. It is a great bang for your buck exercise that addresses numerous body regions with core engagement, thoracic spine extension, scapular muscle activation, shoulder mobility, and deep neck flexor muscle activation. . If you are having a difficult time simultaneously keeping your elbow and wrist against the wall, here are two stretches you can perform prior to performing your next wall angel! . 1⃣ - Pec Stretch + Lift-Off: First focus on pushing into the wall with the opposite hand to maximize this passive stretch. Turn this into an end range hold by lifting your wrist off the wall for a 5-second count for 3 repetitions. Push deeper into the stretch between each rep. Note: Try to keep the front of your shoulder stable against the wall to avoid excessive anterior humeral translation. . 2⃣ - Modified Child's Pose + Lift Off: Hip hinge until you feel an adequate stretch. At this end-rage position, hover your hand just a bit off of the wall. This will look very similar to the Y exercise. Perform this for a 5-second count of 3 repetitions per side. Push deeper into the stretch between each rep. Note: You can do this in a child's pose position, however doing it against the wall allows you to push into deeper shoulder flexion. . ALWAYS RE-TEST! This is how you know if your intervention was effective or not. Here we re-test by going back into the Wall Angel.
Exercise Library